Avot 4:14
Rabbi Nehorai said: Exile yourself to a place of Torah and do not assume that it will come after you, for your fellow students will ensure that it will remain with you. “Do not rely on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5).
Rabbi Nehorai advocates self-imposed exile for the sake of learning. Students should not assume that peers or teachers will support them from afar. They should proactively leave the comfort of their homes and immerse themselves in a learning environment. A conducive spiritual context is essential for success.
This Mishna resonates in modern times with the concept of studying abroad. Research by Hajo Adam and collaborators found that living abroad enhances people’s development of self-concept. By leaving their original and comfortable circumstances and living in a new place, they compare the norms of their home culture with the new ones and reflect on their upbringing. They meet different types of people and engage in unique experiences. This allows them to better develop a stable sense of self.
This self-discovery does not necessarily happen on one’s own. Under the tutelage of Dr. David Pelcovitz, Rabbi Dr. Steven Eisenberg studied the gap-year in Israel phenomenon for his doctoral dissertation at the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration. Interested in the factors that contribute to a change in religiousness, he found that the biggest contributor to growth was the role of rabbis, teachers, and mentors. Here Rabbi Nehorai likewise emphasizes the importance of relationships in this new learning environment, in terms of peers as well as teachers.
The message is not just about a permanent relocation of residence, but impacts learning more generally. Learning seriously in one’s home is very difficult. Writing in Italy in the 16th century, Rabbi Abraham Farissol notes that when people are home, they tend to be more physically lazy and cognitively sluggish. Also writing in the 16th century, in Salonica, Solomon ben Isaac notes in his Leiv Avot that when people are home, their families tend to pamper and spoil them, encouraging them to relax and take it easy.
If we want to learn effectively, we need to relocate ourselves to a better learning environment. Knowing how to choose the right environment to learn and avoiding distraction is known in educational psychology as self-regulated learning. The literature demonstrates that studying in the library, for instance, will allow a learner to more easily control himself from being overly distracted. The general setting (norms for keeping quiet, the presence of other people studying, the bookcases) primes people to make better learning decisions.
Importantly, however, there is one primary difference between the self-regulated learning recommendations and the culture and ethos of a place of learning Torah. Much of the literature assumes that higher-achieving students prefer to study alone in quiet spaces. This trend has also been noted by Anders Ericsson in his study of adult experts. Experience sampling demonstrates that studying with friends is more enjoyable, but effort and concentration are better when studying alone (Shumow et al. 2008). Rabbi Nehorai, however, is emphasizing not learning alone. He quotes Proverbs directly, saying “Do not rely on your own understanding.” The ideal beit midrash is not a library setting where people study quietly in isolation, but a vibrant, often loud and animated social setting. While there is a place for deep work in pensive environments, the bulk of learning should be done socially and collaboratively, with peers and with teachers.
